The Systems
With the destruction of lands came the end of the “state” which mankind had organized itself around for all of history. Reduced to a few habitats, humanity was forced to reconcile its old ways, either learning to live together, or abandoning civilization as it had been known. The major stations soon grouped together in “systems”, loose alliances which would slowly tighten into more cohesive governments, each with their own set of laws and morals, while many of the smaller orbits would either be absorbed by these new nations, or remain silent, solitary, and spinning in the void. = The Mandate = “Man was meant for the stars” From the entrails of humanity crawled the Mandate, slowly, brutally, and efficiently piecing back together what once was. Though replete with the best of humanity’s remaining technology, the Mandate’s greatest weapon proved to be the core mantra it would gain its name from, a new belief for a new age. The Mandate saw the mercy granted to the orbitals during Annihilation as not a mere mistake, but rather a sign of quasi-divine mercy, a mandate placed upon the shoulders of the orbiter to continue humanity as their master had seen fit, among the stars. The Mandate is thus responsible for much of humanity’s modern expansion, yet is also fiercely repressive in regards to any attempt to recover ancient technology, known as techsin among their ranks, or to even approach any of the nine dead worlds. The Mandate stations of Sazen, Crux, and Nalat are among humanity’s largest, yet their populace lives under draconian rule. Mandate society is highly stratified, with military service compulsory for most of the population, and has continued its ruthless expansion even as unrest among the core orbitals grows greater and greater. = The Eastern Reaches = While the Mandate reigns absolute and unopposed in the Western Hemisphere of the void, the East is far wilder and still stands largely free of direct Mandate rule. Here along the Deep Belt, many orbitals still retain their old political function as individual orbit-states with unique and varied cultures, customs, and specialties. The orbits here are split between peaceful traders, bandit kingdoms, secretive enclaves and religious fanatics as well as whatever other bizarre societies have formed over centuries in the vacuum of stellar isolation. These small but often influential systems include: = The Preserve = Encompassing the orbitals of Caton and Muir, two of the largest by surface area, The Preserve contains a staggering amount of unique life not found anywhere else in the void. = Xicaw = Ruled by a secretive and wealthy family, the Xinghon are most widely known as brokers of information and for their voracious consumer market in a section of lawless space which plays host to countless criminal syndicates. = Abberun = Possessing several Harb-Orbs, the shipwrights of Abberun are known around the void for their peerless craftsmanship of advanced starships. = Greater Marikun = Known best for their fortified home orbital, the Marikun run a military state in a corner of heavily contested space, besought on all sides by intermittent threats. Well protected by a series of advanced defensive arrays in their section of the belt, the Marikun populace is heavily militarized as a result of centuries of attack from all sides. = The Yuhnites = Controlling several major Orbital’s around the gaseous world of Yulus, the Yuhnites constitute the void’s largest system in the East, second only to the Mandate in population and power. Ruled by an ancient dynasty, the Yuhnites claim heritage back to mankind’s pre-Annihilation leaders, though this claim is fervently disputed by the Mandate. While still remaining within the orbitals, the Yuhnites have managed to make great strides in biotechnology, and their upper classes remain obsessed with consistent modification and augmentation. They remain in a constant state of undeclared war with The Mandate, though the recent expansion of Brisin space has reduced actual conflict between the two to a minimum. = Soma = Occupying the largest and most populous orbital in the entire void, the orbital of Soma has shaped the history of mankind more than any other. The stations reputation as a haven for free thought and ideological diffusion has allowed it to grow at a rapid pace, becoming the undisputed trade capital of the void. The orbital is ruled under an elective dictatorship with strong traditions promoting a peaceful transition of power. Soma’s fleet is small yet powerful, and their immense treasury has made them the primary lender in the void. Despite a current near thirty years of peace with the Mandate, Soma’s ruling council know that even the slightest hint of weakness or instability would put an end to such an uneasy truce in an instant. Soma also controls various smaller orbitals closer to the Outer Belt, where it has fostered a thriving civilian economy focused on manufacturing and mineral refinement. = Tectonic Order = Unique among the stars for making their home not among orbitals, but on forbidden planetoids, the Tectons have long irritated the Mandate with their ferocious defense of Nauhtnul and its two “holy” moons on which they have erected powerful defensive redoubts. The Order stands apart from the rest of inner space for its unique religion, which draws its roots from ancient pre-Annihilation texts, focusing around the worship of the messianic figure Eiberam the Linker, who is said to have freed the first men from slavery and brought humanity to God, which they see as a figure still unrevealed to humankind and tied irrevocably to the planets of old, particularly Harken. The main portion to Tecton society is in the outer belt, where they have successfully colonized the dwarf planet of Saris, renamed Rho Deilan in honor of one of the Order’s monasteries spoken of in many ancient texts. = Republic of Far Orbits = Comprising the majority of mankind’s most far flung orbitals, the Republic is ruled through a peculiar system, where leaders are selected by a vote from their underlings, and only serve for limited terms. Given their extreme isolation not only from the rest of the void, but also from their fellow orbitals, citizens of the Republic are often fiercely independent and idealistic to a fault. The republic is responsible for many of mankind’s most recent scientific leaps, including the improvement of the Geises Drive and refined synthesization processes for oxygen, yet since this research is based heavily on data recovered from techsin it has led to the Republic repeatedly being pitted at odds with the Mandate. As a result, numerous campaigns have been launched to halt the Republic’s “ultimate folly”, which have succeeded in pushing the already disparate system further and further towards the edges of the void.